“Know your skin type”

Our skin is one of the most important features we have, and is in fact the largest vital organ in our bodies. Proper care of our skin is crucial to our overall feelings of health and well being, and when it is feeling unhealthy it can cause other body systems to feel less than perfect.

Caring for our skin isn’t just a beauty concern – it is important to our whole body system functions. The first step to proper care of your skin is understanding the different skin types, and deciding where you fall.

There are 5 types of skin:

Normal Skin – This is the kind of skin that everyone would love to have, the healthiest type of skin. It isn’t too oily, not too dry, has very few (if any) blemishes, is firm and smooth with very small pores. When you pull the skin away from the bone of the face it will bounce back to the normal position easily. Any lines and wrinkles that are showing are appropriate for the person’s age.

Dry Skin – Dry skin can be due to exposure to harsh elements in the environment, and even just from lack of water. Skin can end up flaking off and causing a feeling of tightness in the face. It may be lacking natural oils, look flaky with only small pores, blackheads and blemishes showing. Dry skin can easily end up becoming chapped without enough moisture. As this type of skin ages, it will be more prone to becoming wrinkly than other skin types.

Oily Skin – They texture of this skin is thick and may look oily, often feeling sticky to touch. There may be recurring blackheads and acne, as well as having large pores. This type of skin is generally youthful looking because of the constant presence of oil on the skin. Those with oily skin will generally have a tendency to end up with acne in their teens and middle years, and develop overgrown oil glands (sebaceous hyperplasia) in their middle to later years.

Combination Skin – This will vary according to particular skin type. This skin has a kind of “split personality”, and is characterized by an oily T-zone, (the area of skin stretching from forehead to nose and chin), and dry to normal skin on the cheeks and areas around the eyes.

Sensitive Skin – People who have sensitive skin are most apt to suffer from allergies, rash, stinging as well as burns. It will get irritated easily and tends to get very red and blotchy a lot of the time. Environmental factors can cause a lot more trouble to those with sensitive skin, and cosmetics can often cause irritation.

Make sure you understand what categories of skin types you fall into so that you can do your best to take good care of it.